Code Pink Journals CodePINK Journals

Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels across country in my mobile billboard truck as I attempt to engage in dialogue with people in hopes to wake us up and inspire action to change our country and communities and selves. And it is froth with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society and life we want

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

pink slippin' katherine harris

last nite we attended a NOW meeting - a WONDERFUL womon jane has offered to house us - she has a guest house and a room in her house!!! yeah!!! we've met her husband dennis, a former vietnam war vet - he's declared his house & guest house the sarasota codepink command center & has set about putting everything in place to make it so. he's had to wire the guest house for a phone, hi-speed internet access, and has had to update my computer so i can communicate effectively. he's offered rides, ran errands, provided laundry facilities, and has just been so supportive of our work. another amazingly generous and determined extraodinary american family for regime change without whose support, neither i nor codepink could function let alone exist!
so we return today to venice to pink slip katherine harris. at the now meeting last nite, actually at the resteraunt after the meeting, several wimmin voice their reasons for why harris needs a pink slip. for those of you who don't know, k. harris was the sec't of state during the last prez election that purged 94,000 voters from the roles - over half were african american AND around 95% should have been legally allowed to vote - anyway, this ugly mean woman was elected to the congress, believe it or not. i asked the now wimmin to give me their reasons for pinkslipping her: opposes stemcell research; failed women's rights & reproductive rights; lied about terrorist attack in indiana, refuses to discuss wimmin's rights; against gun control; all about rich wimmin, aarp supported her position on banning drugs from canada; she was cochair of the bush campaign while sec't of state - total conflict of interest; voted to cut veterans benefits.
we had to drive about 20 miles south of sarasota, back to venice, florida, home of very rich, very white, very old bush supporters and the venice chamber of commerce. we decided to protest outside the chamber and to infiltrate the republican club meeting - that way we get to pinkslip harris twice.
standing outside in the sweltering heat and humidity, we were greeted by angry republicans who shouted such things as: get a job, get a life, shave your armpits, go buy some clothes - no wonder you can't work, you don't deserve to live here -= and these are the nice things they say. we're called crazy, idiots, uneducated, evil, ugly, stupid - and again, these are the nice names in that category of name=calling.
all this because we're standing in front of the chamber of commerce with a banner that says: "you've failed women: you're fired".
a local tv station is there, recording the whole action, interviewing us & dodging republicans who are trying to be the ones filmed. they also tried to outshout us, first chanting about 'four more years' except we keep adding 'of war' 'of lies' 'of poverty' in between the years - we chant our 3 more weeks until we remember we're focusing on harris this time - she has arrived in the parking lot moments after we've set up the banners & taken our spots out front.
the head of the chamber of commerce, an early 30's genial white man, comes out to talk w/us - we are prepared for him to kick us off the premises, which are open to the public but privately owned, one of those grey areas of property that we usually end up losing our 1st amendment rights on when facing republican owners. we're secretly pleased he does not ask us to leave but instead calmly states we have a right to be there as do the republicans but we can't stand in front of the door. we've drifted over because the camera crew wanted to center us in the picture! we comply with the gracious commerce fellow, still waiting on harris to walk by.
finally, she appears in the parking lot and moves towards us. debbie walks up to greet her & hand her the pink slip we've made for her. katherine refuses to take it as she hustles past debbie and we chant 'pink slip katherine harris, you've failed wimmin'. debbie drapes the pinkslip over the perfect coiffed tresses of katherine harris as she passes debbie & a reporter snaps a fab photo!
yeah!! we remain outside, greeting more republicans and trying not to pay attention to the young, rambo type white male that is shouting something about remembering 1971 & the self-inflicted wounds kerry received not one, but three purple hearts, one silver & one bronze medal for..... go figure. many people approaching the chamber are neither going to the republican meeting nor are republican!
ariel has made it inside the meeting with melinda - they are passing as a mother & daughter republican die-hards team. ariel will write the details later, but she informed us they had to pray to christ, sing god bless america, and then pledge alligiance to the flag - all before the meeting began. when harris began to speak, they stood up and offered her a pink slip which she again refused. ariel told us that for 30 seconds she got to tell a stunned harris & republican club members about why harris needed to be fired! melinda reported that the woman sitting next to her kept telling her melinda betrayed her & their 15 minute pre-harris arrival friendship!
the press got the whole action & we made the noon, 5, 6, and 11:00 news!!! yeah!!! peace, sam

About Me

i'm now a 66 yr old (still with a golden age pass to get into national parks FREE) jewish lesbian anti-racist mother - and grandmother - striving radical womonist/feminist; daughter & granddaughter of survivors of the holocaust, mother of a young amazon healer & amazing human being, lover of wimmin & student of conscious living............even tho i am the one actually driving the truck, i could not even head out from home if it were not for the support of many, many, many wimmin (and several men as well). i am now working on trying to publish my book "But What Can I Do? A Handbook for change: myself, my community, my country. I still continue to offer Racism Awareness workshops geared for White people, NO DRONES workshops, and any other that is needed. if you want to help support this journey, please click the "Make a Donation" link below- it's secure!